US swimmer Lochte's legal troubles mount in Brazil

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FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, file photo, United States' Ryan Lochte checks his time in a men's 4x200-meter freestyle heat during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Speedo announced Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, that they are dropping their sponsorship of Lochte. The swimsuit maker says that it doesn’t condone behavior that is counter to its values. Lochte fabricated a tale that he was robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics. He later apologized. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2016, file photo, United States' Ryan Lochte competes in the men's 200-meter individual medley final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Speedo is the first major sponsor to drop swimmer Ryan Lochte as a sponsor. The swimsuit maker owned by PVH in New York says that it doesn’t condone behavior that is counter to its values. Lochte fabricated a tale that he was robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics. He later apologized. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

In this early Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016 American Olympic swimmers Gunnar Bentz, left, and Jack Conger, leave the police station at the international airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The two were taken off their flight from Brazil to the U.S. on Wednesday by local authorities amid an investigation into a reported robbery targeting Ryan Lochte and his teammates. (AP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

FILE - In this Sunday, June 26, 2016, file photo, Ryan Lochte swims during a preliminary heat in the Men's 400-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, in Omaha, Neb. Speedo announced Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, that they are dropping their sponsorship of Lochte. The swimsuit maker says that it doesn’t condone behavior that is counter to its values. Lochte fabricated a tale that he was robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics. He later apologized. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian police charged American swimmer Ryan Lochte on Thursday with filing a false robbery report over an incident during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

A police statement said Lochte would be informed in the United States so he could decide whether to introduce a defense in Brazil. The indictment will also be sent to the International Olympic Committee's ethics commission, it said.

"The investigation was concluded on Thursday and Olympic American swimmer Ryan Lochte was indicted for the crime of falsely reporting a crime," the statement said.

It said the case was turned over to a special Brazilian court that has jurisdiction over crimes related to major sporting events. The court, which was established before Brazil hosted soccer's 2014 World Cup, is authorized to receive cases straight from the police when lesser charges are involved, without a need for prosecutors.

The swimmer's spokeswoman, Melissa Nathan, said Lochte had no comment.

During the games, Lochte initially said that he and fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen were robbed at gunpoint in a taxi by men with a police badge as they returned to the Olympic Village from a party Aug. 15.

Video surveillance emerged showing the athletes getting into a confrontation with security guards at the gas station when their taxi pulled over to let them use the restroom. While there have been conflicting versions over whether the guards pulled their weapons on the swimmers, Lochte has since acknowledged he was highly intoxicated and that his behavior led to the confrontation.

Lochte left Brazil shortly after the incident. Three days later, local authorities took Conger and Bentz off an airliner heading to the United States so they could be questioned about the robbery claim. They were later allowed to leave Brazil, as was Feigen, after he also gave testimony. Feigen, who initially stood by Lochte's testimony, was not charged.

Under Brazilian law, the penalty for falsely filing a crime report carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison. Lochte could be tried in absentia if he didn't return to face the charge.

The United States and Brazil have an extradition treaty dating back to the 1960s, but Brazil has a long history of not extraditing its own citizens to other nations and U.S. authorities could take the same stance if Lochte is found guilty.

That is currently the case of the head of Brazil's football confederation, Marco Polo del Nero, who faces charges in the wide-ranging scandal entangling international soccer's ruling body, FIFA. He has not travelled outside Brazil for more than a year to avoid being arrested by U.S. authorities somewhere else.

The charges in Brazil raise questions about the future for Lochte, who is planning to take time off from swimming but wants to return to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He has 12 Olympic medals, second only to Michael Phelps among U.S. male Olympians.

Lochte lost four major sponsors early this week over the controversy, including Speedo USA and Ralph Lauren. But on Thursday he picked up a new sponsor — Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops. Pine Bros. said people should be more understanding of the swimmer and said he will appear in ads that say the company's product is "Forgiving On Your Throat."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatives of Jesse Owens and America's 17 other black athletes from the 1936 Olympics were welcomed to the White House on Thursday by President Barack Obama for the acknowledgement they didn't receive along with their white counterparts 80 years ago.

Along with the relatives of the 1936 African-American Olympians, gloved-fist protesters Tommie Smith and John Carlos and members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams met the president and first lady Michelle Obama. Obama congratulated the Rio athletes, thanked Smith and Carlos for waking up Americans in 1968 and praised 1936 Olympians who made a statement in front of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.

TOKYO (AP) — An expert panel set up by Tokyo's newly elected governor says the price tag of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could exceed $30 billion unless drastic cost-cutting measures are taken. That's more than a four-fold increase from the initial estimate at the time Tokyo was awarded the games in 2013.